University of Plymouth graduate has helped a Cornish boatbuilding firm set its sights on making a splash in the growing sports and leisure market with the aid of state of the art computer technology.

Rupert Lorraine, aged 26 from Bath, has helped Kingfisher Boats in Falmouth implement a 3D Computer Aided Design (3D-CAD) system enabling the firm to accurately design its new boat - the Kingfisher Sports Explorer.

Using the Rhino 3D-CAD system to create detailed and accurate representations of the boats various moulded structures and fabricated components allowed the vessel to be fully designed within a virtual environment' before production began.

Rupert, a first class graduate in Marine Sports Technology, joined the team at Kingfisher in 2004 as part of the university's Knowledge Transfer Partnerships scheme (KTP)*, which provides resources and expertise to businesses and organisations throughout the UK, through the appointment of a talented graduate coupled with support from senior academics.

"The new 3D-CAD system has allowed Kingfisher to realise significant efficiency gains across both design and manufacturing functions, and has dramatically improved the communication of design data" said Rupert.

"Having completed the design within the CAD environment I subsequently supervised the manufacturing process to ensure there was parity with the CAD data. The system has proved invaluable for assisting the rapid production of consistently high-quality products."

Kingfisher wanted to draw on the university's resources and expertise to help it achieve the goal of implementing the new 3D-CAD system in order to meet the demand for its new product range.

During his time with Kingfisher, Rupert was able to enhance the modification / customisation of the existing product range, as well as enable the design of the new sports boat. He also made an invaluable contribution to the successful launch of Kingfisher's Sport 35 vessel at the Southampton International Boat Show.

Since teaming up with the university, Kingfisher has become more technologically advanced, and the implementation of 3D-CAD technology has led to a number of improvements in its operating procedures.

The implementation has led to a detailed and more accurate recording of the true cost of each vessel and has allowed a 30 per cent reduction in production times, and up to an 80 per cent reduction in lead times for design development, production of manufacturing drawings and general data retrieval. Customer satisfaction has also been further enhanced now the company can send out CAD data electronically.

Ron Coote, who founded and established Kingfisher with his wife in 1984, said: "With a desire to develop our product range alongside the need to review and update our working practices to stay that ever important one step ahead', the support from the University of Plymouth came at a vital time for Kingfisher Boats."

His work at Kingfisher now complete, Rupert is returning to the university as a member of staff.

5:38pm Monday 14th April 2008

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